(meteorobs) 2004 Perseid data from SW Florida

[Norman W. McLeod III]

2004 August 12, MCLNO
Norman W. McLeod III

latitude 26.5 N, longitude 81.5 W, Lehigh Acres, Florida

206 - 226 EDT    606 - 626 UT    Teff 0.33    F1.00    LM 7.2     17 
PER    1 CAP    1 SPOR    19 TOTAL

226 - 326 EDT    626 - 726 UT    Teff 1.00    F1.00    LM 7.2    54 
PER    3 SDA    7 SPOR    64 TOTAL

326 - 356 EDT    726 - 756 UT    Teff 0.50    F1.00    LM 7.2    26 PER   1 
SPOR    28 TOTAL   waning crescent moonrise  356 EDT  756 UT

356 - 436 EDT    756 - 836 UT    Teff 0.67    F1.00    LM 6.8    21 PER   1 
NDA    2 SPOR    21 TOTAL



MAGNITUDES:

Perseids:

606 - 626 UT:  -3 (1)  -2 (0)  -1 (0)  0 (2) +1 (1) +2 (4) +3 (2) +4 (2) +5 
(4) +6 (1)  total: 17  avg: 2.71

626 - 726 UT:  -2 (1)  -1 (1)  0 (8) +1 (2) +2 (19) +3 (12) +4 (10) +5 (1) 
+6 (0)  total: 54  avg: 2.19

726 - 756 UT:  -3 (1)  -2 (0)  -1 (0)  0 (3) +1 (1) +2 (7) +3 (6) +4 (5) +5 
(3) +6 (0)  total: 26  avg: 2.50

756 - 836 UT:  -4 (1)  -3 (0)  -2 (0)  -1 (1)  0 (1) +1 (7) +2 (0) +3 (5) 
+4 (1) +5 (5) +6 (0)  total: 21  avg: 2.19
---------------

Sporadics:

606 - 756 UT: -8 (1)  +1 (1) +2 (2) +3 (3) +4 (2) +5 (0) +6 (0)  total: 9

756 - 836 UT:  0 (0) +1 (0) +2 (0) +3 (2) +4 (0) +5 (0) +6 (0)   total: 2


-------------

Alpha Capricornids:

+2(1)   total: 1

-------------

South Delta Aquarids:

+2 (1)  +3 (2)   total: 2

---------------

North Delta Aquarids:

+3 (1)   total: 1

-----------------

2004 Perseid trains vs magnitude in sky LM 7.2:

dur (s) __-4__-3__-2__-1__0___1___2___3___4___Total
0.5___________________________1____________1
1___________1______1__7_______9___8___1____27
2___________1_________4_______2____________7
3_______________1__________________________1
all trains_____2___1__1__11__0___12__8___1____30
Perseids_____2___1__1__13__4___30__20__17___8___1___97
%trained___100_100_100_84.6_0_40.0_40.0_5.9___0___0___---

---------------------

2004 Perseid colors -- all conditions and including casuals:

mags:____-4_____-3_____-2_____-1______0______1______2_____total
yellow____1__________________________7______4____________12
orange___________2_____1_____________2______2______1_____8
blue_____________1____________1______3______4______2_____11
yellow-orange_________________________1___________________1
blue-green____________________________1___________________1
white-yellow___________________1___________________________1
green_______________________________________1____________1
all-colored:_1_____3______1_____2______14_____11______3_____35
all-Perseids:1_____3______1_____2______14_____11_____30_____121
%-colored:100___100____100____100____100____100____10.0____-----

fainter Perseids:
____3m____4_____5_____6m
____26____18____14_____1


% colored at +1m or brighter:
12 yellow 37.5%
7 orange 21.9%
9 blue 28.1%
1 yellow-orange 3.1%
1 blue-green 3.1%
1 white-yellow 3.1%
1 green 3.1%

---------------------

This year's Perseids rated good with me.  I don't often reach 
50/hour.  Europe was due the maximum by my reckoning, and 2004 resembles 
1980 (Europe peak) in which the best hour came early.  I was in the 
tail-end of higher rates when I started.  Another  similarity between the 
two years is the lack of fireballs.  The same happened in 1972.

There were several compact groups of Perseids, a couple of times 5 or 6 in 
a single minute.  But there were no simultaneous pairs.  I was facing NNE 
at elevation 70 degrees.

In 2005 the peak is due over American time zones.  I should be close to 
70/hour then.

This outing was Joan's first dark-sky test after cataract 
surgery.  Remarkably, she was able to see stars to about +5m and a fair 
number of meteors, totaled 35.  Right eye only, her left is useless.  The 
glare of lights in town makes it impossible for her to see anything in the 
sky fainter than +1m.  Right eye was lasered to stop the retina from 
detaching, but this treatment causes some loss in vision.  I had new 
glasses myself, having been to the optometrist a couple of weeks 
ago.  Needed a little adjustment to get stars back to sharp points.

It was a sweltering and buggy night, temperature near 80F and humidity 
higher than that.  Quite typical for August on the fringe of the 
tropics.  I worked up a little sweat just setting up.  We had to keep the 
pizza-lid fans going the whole time even with a mosquito coil lit.


Norman

Norman W. McLeod III
Staff Advisor
American Meteor Society

Fort Myers, Florida
nmcleod at peganet.com